Fall 2019 HC 221H: Feminist Epic

This class will survey women’s literary renderings of Homer. Selections from recent women-penned translations of The Iliad and The Odyssey, prize-winning novels, contemporary poetry, and an indie folk album are the rich tapestry against which we'll think about how feminism has to work to reshape some of the most violent and foundational stories in all of literature. How does myth change when women hold the creative power? Students will consider the great epics through class discussion, academic writing, creative projects, and collaborative presentations.

Among the texts we will study in this class are Madeline Miller’s acclaimed Song of Achilles (2012), Anne Carson’s poetry Autobiography of Red (1998), Margaret Atwood’s Penelopiad (2005), feminist theory that touches on the subject of epic, and a sojourn to Anais Mitchell’s Hadestown (2010).

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